Fans of the Detroit Pistons have been dreaming about a trade for Devin Booker for years, but it’s time for those dreams to end.
Insider Marc Stein (subscription) reported that the Suns and Booker are expected to agree on a 2 year/$150 million extension to keep the Booker in Phoenix through the 2029-30 season.
This is on top of Booker being heavily involved in the Suns’ coaching search, further evidence that they have no intention of trading their franchise cornerstone.
This is before you even get to the cost of any proposed trade, which would be steep and likely include at least two of the Pistons’ young core along with Tobias Harris and pretty much all of their tradable draft picks.
And you do have to ask which team will be better off if the Suns do give Booker that monster extension.
Five years of Jaden Ivey or Devin Booker?
Jaden Ivey is also eligible for an extension this summer, and there are some who believe the Pistons should try to lock him up now when the price will conceivably be lower than it will at the end of the season in restricted free agency.
If the Pistons can extend Ivey somewhere in the 5 years/$110 million range (with a team option on the last year) he’ll be making half of what Booker will make in the next three seasons and a third the two seasons after that, when Booker will be 32 and 33 years old.
Booker is already a star, and Ivey may never be as good as he is, but when you look at the contract cost, there is certainly an argument that Ivey will be the more valuable player in three years when Booker is making $75 million a season.
We’ve seen that quality depth and value matter as much as star power under the new team-building restrictions, which has been illustrated perfectly by the two teams in the NBA Finals.
The Thunder ran out 11 players in the first quarter in their game two victory and the Pacers had seven players in double figures even in the loss.
Depth matters, and as good as Devin Booker is, you can have two or even three good players for the cost of his contract, which makes it difficult to build depth, ask the Suns, who just missed the playoffs with a “Big 3” that had scant talent behind it.
Booker was never a reality for the Pistons, but if he signs the reported extension before July 6th, he won’t be a reality for anyone else either.